St. Louis Park nears vote on TIF for Platia Place project

St. Louis Park appears inclined to give the developer of a proposed hotel and apartment complex a $3.38 million helping hand.

During a study session Monday night, City Council members expressed support for directing tax increment financing to the $57 million Platia Place project, in the northwest quadrant of Interstate 394 and Highway 169. Proposed last June by Excelsior-based Stoddard Cos., the six-story buildings would rise on the former Santorini restaurant site at 9808 and 9920 Wayzata Blvd.

The TIF would go toward “extraordinary site preparation costs,” according to city documents. The site preparation will include cleaning up the property and removing three billboards. In addition, pilings will have to be driven into soft soils to support the new buildings, Stoddard said.

Stoddard proposes building a 149-unit apartment complex and a 100- to 112-room hotel on the 2.67-acre site. The former restaurant was demolished in 2013, and the developer has signed a purchase agreement for the property, said CEO Bill Stoddard.

Construction of the apartments will likely begin this summer and take up to 14 months, Stoddard said Tuesday. A start date for the hotel has yet to be determined. The limited-service hotel’s brand hasn’t been announced yet.

St. Louis Park’s Economic Development Authority could vote as early as March on whether to approve the TIF, said Greg Hunt, the city’s economic development coordinator. Platia Place received preliminary approval last October and could also receive its final approvals in March.

The TIF will likely require Stoddard to include 15 to 27 affordable apartments in the project, housing supervisor Michele Schnitker said in an interview last summer.

The project site is in the Shelard Park area, which already has four apartment complexes and a hotel. Stoddard’s apartments and hotel would be adjacent to the 20-story Metropoint 600 office building at 600 Highway 169 S. and across Highway 169 from General Mills’ corporate headquarters.